Here in Norway, a jigger is closest to what we pour as a dram, 4cl to be precise. And it's illegal to pour doubles, ie more than 4cl of the same alcohol into the same glass, thus we must pour 2, silly really. But then it gets silllier in that if you make an international cocktail, it's totally fine to mix various liquors into the same glass, as many cl as the customer is willing to pay for, and since "it's so expensive in Norway," (bla bla bla), no one ever has a true Long Island Ice Tea for example, which I guess must be about 10cl or so.
I generally pour myself about 2-4 cl when I'm at home, depending on the mood. And when I'm out, I'll usually order 2cl in order to have a taste of something.

There are several different technical definitions of a dram, depending on context. A dram of perfume is a specific (and rsather small, as I recall) amount, for example. In whisky usage, it's just a serving--whatever you want it to be.

The standard pour in Scotland, 35ml or about 1 1/4 oz, seems about right for tasting to me. At home, it's probably between an ounce and an ounce and a half. The pub I was in last night poured me about 2 1/2 oz of Glenlivet, enough to accompany two pints of their IPA (a brewpub! A pleasant surprise on the road) and hopefully will again tonight.

A dram is a dram is a dram with no specific measurement.
If it is to be broken down it can be done so thus; Small, Large, Good Sized or Bloody Big.
Small drams are reserved for those for whom a good sized dram would be overpowering, whereas a bloody big dram is usually administered to lessen the effect of, for example, an invoice from Loch Fyne Whiskies which has been intercepted by Mrs C

Sparky:
Welcome to the forum, needless to say you'll find a very eclectic bunch here. Knowledgeable, but eclectic, eh Bruce?

Nice first Poll you've prepared, by the by.

If I were to pick a measure, I would say 1 1/2 ounces is my dram. At a tasting, I drop the measure to 1 tablespoon so that after 12 samples, you are still somewhat coherent, however there is sufficient to actually get the nose and taste sensations.
Muskrat

There are some individuals here who are eclectic all by themselves....

Muskrat Portage wrote:At a tasting, I drop the measure to 1 tablespoon so that after 12 samples, you are still somewhat coherent....Muskrat

Is that how much it takes? I'll have to try it.

I had a three-ounce dram in the pub attached to my hotel here last night, of Glenlivet 12 (the entire malt selection was that and 'fiddich). I have to say, that was a nice amount for really getting to know and enjoy the whisky. Tastings are wonderful, but a bit artificial, and I'm always a bit wary of notes made in such circumstances. I know that I cannot really begin to understand a malt in such a small sample, nor can I properly taste many consecutive malts. And tasting competitions are another thing altogether--to win such, a product must stand out in some way, and I think brewers and chili chefs, for example, design their entries with that in mind. The same principle applies to some extent to whisky tastings, so that, when I see "Macaskill 42 was the consensus hit of the evening", I take it with a grain of salt. It means that Macaskill 42 was the favorite of those tasters in that context, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it would be the favorite of any of those people in a different (particularly noncompetitive) context.

This is also one, among several, reasons that I don't even think about scoring whiskies.

I didn't realize that a dram does in fact refer to a serving of whisky as several here have pointed out. It took a lot of searching, but I did finally see a definition of dram that included the context of scotch ad Scotland specifically. So my dram is a jigger (well, it usually approaches 2 pony's (ponies?)).

Thanks for the warm welcome. I have been perusing the forum for a while now and decided to get in on the fun. I am fairly new to scotch, but it has been love at first taste (Talisker 10). Growing up on beer and Canadian Rye whisky, I had no idea that spirits could be so richly flavored.

A pony if I'm doing tasting notes and have several lined up. A jigger if just contemplating a drink or 2 or trying to finish off a bottle. A snit or a split would be a long weekend, and a pint... haven't tried that in 20 years.

I don't think I've ever used the word dram! And I've never refered to a drink as a snit, but that's about what I usually pour myself. But that lasts 2 to 3 hours quite often, if I'm just at home in the evening.

I usually only have 2 or 3 bottles open at a time, and seldom drink from more than one in a night, but if I wanted to sample more than one kind, I'd probably pour something a bit smaller.

If I'm having a few different drams I'd have between 25-50mls depending on how many different drams but on a good night I'd have 15ml in total so 3 jiggers approx but like last night I had less than 20ml so it really depends on mood.

I don't get the drams part of the equation. A dram to me is a single pour whether it is 100ml , 50ml or 20ml ????

I need to translate drams, jiggers, etc. into "fingers". I usually pour two or three fingers and I call that a drink. A finger is when you put your finger horizontally at the bottom of the glass (from outside) and pour up to the level of your finger. Dont try putting your finger vertically, you will get drunk !!! lol

LeoDLion wrote:I need to translate drams, jiggers, etc. into "fingers". I usually pour two or three fingers and I call that a drink. A finger is when you put your finger horizontally at the bottom of the glass (from outside) and pour up to the level of your finger. Dont try putting your finger vertically, you will get drunk !!! lol

Yes but it depends on the glass too ....

I've seen some whiskey glasses that look like buckets and a bar measure is just lost in them

LeoDLion wrote:I need to translate drams, jiggers, etc. into "fingers". I usually pour two or three fingers and I call that a drink. A finger is when you put your finger horizontally at the bottom of the glass (from outside) and pour up to the level of your finger. Dont try putting your finger vertically, you will get drunk !!! lol

All this time I've been doing the vertical measure, no wonder my bottles don't last long.

Fingers work in tumblers, I suppose. Not many here use that style of glass. If I did, I doubt I would ever exceed one finger at a time. (So if I show up at your door, feel free to give me the finger....)

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